News from the Bellbrook High School newspaper class

Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs: A World Series to Remember

by Lauren Redfern

October 25 is a day that will be written into the baseball history books forever. The Chicago Cubs, who are never playing in October, and the Cleveland Indians, who also have rare occurrences during the fall months, find themselves suiting up in the final seven games of the season. The Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 in a five game series, and the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 in a seven game series. The Indians swept the Boston Red Soxs in a five game series and then beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 in a seven game series.

The two teams debuted in Game 1 of the World Series in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians were granted home field advantage, because the American League won the All Star game. The Indians started off the series very quickly, and the Cubs had no response. Corey Kluber was on the mound for the Indians, and Chicago Cub Jon Lester could not keep the Indians from scoring. Cleveland won 6-0, giving them the 1 game lead entering game 2.

Unlike Game 1, the Cubs jumped out to an early lead. The talk of Game 2 was all about Ohio native Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber suffered a torn ACL and LCL in the first few games of the season. He was cleared only a few days before the World Series, and manager Joe Madden called upon him to be in the DH while in Cleveland. Designated hitters can only be used while playing in American League Stadiums. National League teams hit all field player; this includes the pitcher. Schwarber used this opportunity to go 2-4 at the plate and was responsible for 2 RBIs. The Cubs went on to win the game 5-1, tying the series as they head back to Wrigley on October 28.

The two teams have a lot of history and it’s mostly about losing. The last time the Cubs won the World Series it was 1908, and the last time they played in the series was 1945. The Indians, who have the 2nd longest drought, last won in 1948, three years after Chicago last lost. Entering game 3 the Indians are hoping that the experience of their manager Terry Francona will help them as he as only lost one game in his World Series career, and that was game 2. The Cubs, however, will not make that task easy as the city of Chicago has been waiting for this moment for more than 70 years. Game 3, 4 and 5 will take place at Wrigley and then return to Cleveland for game 6 and 7 if necessary. All games are broadcast by Fox Sports.